Chennai: They were the worst affected by devastating floods last year, but their enthusiasm to cast their votes was affected the least.
Residents of Mudichur and Varadharajapuram near Tambaram formed a bee line on Monday morning to exercise their franchise. They all said in unison they want better roads and street lighting among other basic amenities from the new
government.
Sreenivasan bought an apartment on the first floor at Balaji Nagar at Varadharajapuram. He and his family were forced to go to the second floor and stay there for five days during the devastating floods. He and his wife were first among those on Monday to cast their votes. “No candidate from any political party came to campaign in our locality. There is no proper road and water facility.
Before the next rain, we want encroachments on the banks of Adyar river to be removed,” Sreenivasan said. Sundarajan, a retired BSNL employee, who was staying in the ground floor of his apartment lost many household articles in the floods. He says government’s relief will not compensate the valuables lost in the floods. “Our first demand to the new government is to provide tarred roads. The roads are not usable here. They also should ensure that the water channels are free from encroachment,” he said.
“Even now we are scared of rain. There will be floods again if encroachments are not removed,” says Dhanushkodi, a carpenter, whose house got fully submerged in water. He took refuge in the apartments opposite his house. Meyyappan of Ashtalakshmi Nagar, a retired bank employee, said no politician visited his neighbourhood for campaigning.
Indira from PTC quarters complained there were only four street lights in the area. “When we made enquiries, authorities said they didn’t have the approval for roads,” she said. Balasubramanian and his family was waiting at the bus stand for more than an hour to catch a bus to Tambaram to exercise their franchise. “There are no proper street lights or buses in this area. The Tambaram – Manimangalam road needs to be widened,” he said.
